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Labour rebels defy leadership in welfare vote

48 Labour rebels have defied the party leadership to vote against the Government's welfare reforms.

Leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn was among the MPs to ignore interim leader Harriet Harman's call for them to abstain in the Commons second reading vote on the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

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Burnham 'cannot abstain' on welfare - after abstaining

Andy Burnham has insisted that Labour "simply cannot abstain" on the Welfare Bill soon after he abstained in the Commons vote.

Andy Burnham said children would be hit by the welfare changes Credit: PA Wire

The Labour leader candidate took to Facebook to outline his reasons for his actions after nearly 50 of his party's MPs defied interim leader Harriet Harman and voted against the Conservative's Welfare Reform Bill.

He said that he was "firing the starting gun on Labour's opposition" to the reforms and if elected leader would "fight this regressive Bill word by word, line by line".

Tonight I voted for a Labour motion to oppose the Tories’ Welfare Reform Bill.

It was a motion I had been calling for, because I have been clear all along – we cannot simply abstain on a Bill that will penalise working families and increase child poverty.

That’s why last week I took a stand against the Tories’ assault on working families, children and disabled people – and I make no apology for that.

The Tory tax-credit cuts I spoke out against will hit working families who are doing the right thing. They will actually discourage people from being in work.

Children will be hit particularly badly. Many of the measures in this Bill will have the effect of increasing child poverty.

And at the same time as David Cameron is penalising working families, he is choosing to spend hundreds of millions of pounds on an inheritance tax cut for the richest estates.

It speaks volumes about where his priorities really lie.

But whilst we may have lost the vote tonight, that doesn’t mean the battle has to be over.

– Andy Burnham
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Labour rebels defy leadership in welfare vote

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